Western classical music used to have a rich tradition of
improvisation. Many performers during the Baroque period were expected to be
able to spontaneously create music. During the classical period almost all the
cadenzas of a concerto were improvised. What happened? Today, Jazz is really
the only remaining vanguard of western improvisation.*
Every Jazz musician knows how vital it is to be able to
think quickly when it comes to improvisation, so studying a system that has
thousands of years of improvisational development under its belt seems like a
good idea. This in many ways goes along with the ear training portion; Indian
Classical Music’s study methods usually involve palta-s and Alankar-s which
stress musical patterns over a drone. These patterns range from the
super-simple to the ultra-complex (and every phase in-between). Memorizing these patterns means that the
performer is able to call upon virtually every scale degree and every interval
almost at a whim.
Of course, calling up random scale degrees and intervals is
not all that is involved in the task of melodic improvisation. As the above video teaches us; there is also
the issue of making something that is pleasing and interesting – not to mention "novel." Fortunately, the
western-trained musician is in luck here. Where western music took the route to
develop complex harmonies that supported melodies, the melodies in Indian
Classical music had to thrive on their own. Anyone who listens to an
instrumental or vocal alap during a performance can tell you that these
musicians exercise incredible restraint and creativity in order to deliver the
best possible musical product.
It should be mentioned, however; that instruments which are heavily
dependent on harmony such as guitar and piano will benefit somewhat less from
this. The instruments that benefit the
most from this portion of ICM training are monophonic instruments such as
woodwinds, strings, and of course the human voice (please see the ear-training
blog). Best of all, the training is, for
the most part, universal which means that a vocal instructor would be able to
instruct a cellist, a sitar player would be able to instruct a flutist and so
on.
*I understand that many jam-rock bands such as the Grateful
Dead and Phish are known for their long improvisations. I also understand that
there are many popular acts that fall outside of Jazz that also improvise.
Furthermore there are some modern performers within the tradition of western
classical music who are attempting to bring back the older forms of
improvisation – I made a sweeping remark for the sake of brevity only.
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